New Perspective
by TeaAndGlee
Summary: (AU) Marley is definitely on top of her game at McKinley. She's captain of the Cheerios, extremely popular, and has every guy drooling over her and catering to her every move. But when she meets a certain brainy Glee Club nerd called Ryder Lynn, she starts to think she wants to spend time with him other than when she's meddling with the Glee kids. But how will she save her status?
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee. All characters belong to Ryan Murphy and the writers, and if I did own Glee, Ryley would be endgame for sure!**

She looked back with a mischievous smirk at her army of flawless girls and chiselled jocks. Her status? The hawk or prowling lion of the McKinley High School food web. Her Position? Captain of the Cheerios.

Her name? Marley Rose.

Her shiny locks sculpted back into an immaculate high ponytail, curled to perfection and swaying as she fearlessly strutted through the halls of McKinley High. Countless basketball players, football players and stalkers greeted her as she walked- she gave them a half-hearted smile, but she didn't care about them one bit. A tall man with a mullet approached her cautiously as she stopped to scan his concerned face. She vaguely recalled his complexion, but she wasn't so sure.

"Oh no, here comes 'Lover-Boy Ricky'," Her sidekick, Kitty, murmured into her ear.

"Oh, God. His mullet looks particularly stupid today. Be careful, girl." Another one of her friends, going by the name Bree, whispered to her.

"I've got this, guys." She muttered back to them, before talking to a very anxious looking Rick-The-Stick. "Hey, Rick, how's life treating you?" She said, the words slithering out of her mouth in their usual venomous and sarcastic tone. Rick's reply was a stutter.

"Good, g-good. L-Listen, Marley- Last Saturday was so gr-reat. But I c-called you afterward and you did-didn't reply once. I left you a bunch of messages-"

"Oh, I got them." Marley butted in, smirking. She loved making guys feel this way.

"Well, I was wondering if, you know, y-you were free this Friday to maybe… hook up again? Saturday kind of left me wanting more…" He smirked slightly, regaining some of his confidence back, seeing her smirk as what he thought must be a sign she thought the same.

"You see, Rick," He smirked at hearing her say his name, "I think I have something to do on Friday… Oh yes, that's right, I'm going with Spencer to the movies that day." She recalled before smirking again, seeing his lip quiver slightly.

"Spencer? But Marley-"

"You see, Ricky, sweetie, this is where I give you a little bit of tough love. I don't care- in fact, I could not care _less_- about how "amazing" you thought last Saturday was. I thought it was going okay too, until I ran my fingers through that mullet of yours, and my hands came out greasier than a mechanic working on a rusty old car from the 1940s. Also, a little tip, your 'moans of pleasure' were so loud and irritating they made me want to jump out of that motel room, naked, run to the nearest diner and pray for the main chef to stick a steaming hot burger patty in my ears. Understood?" She spoke innocently, with a devilish smirk taking place on her face once more. Rick nodded slowly, just staring into her piercing blue eyes. "Good. See you in 10 years when you're working as a Billy-Ray Cyrus tribute act, singing a strangled, teary version of 'Achy-Breaky-Heart' or whatever into your little microphone, as you sing your boring, sad life away. And _that_, Ricky, is what you call a _break-up._" Marley spoke the words as cold as ice as Ricky sniffed sharply before walking away abruptly, hearing the sassy 'ooh's of passers-by in the hallway. Marley high-fived Kitty and Bree as a sense of achievement overtook her face.

"Alright, girls, what's next on the agenda?"

"Well, the Glee Club and geometry nerds should be coming out of class in a couple minutes. Wanna go and give them the old blue raspberry cocktail, Mar?" Bree suggested, holding a menacing smirk as the three girls strutted through the hallways side-by-side, their army of Cheerios, Jocks and wannabes following eagerly behind.

Marley smirked again, speaking the worlds in an innocent but deadly tone. "I don't see why not, Bree-Bree."

They arrived outside the choir room and Kitty looked through the window subtly, seeing that the 'Glee weirdos' were just finishing up. She gave the thumbs-up to Marley, who smirked, turning around to Chad- a tall, blond jock, and biting her lip as he stared into her cerulean-blue eyes.

"Chad, baby, could you get us three blue raspberry slushies please?" then, going on her tiptoes so her mouth was parallel to Chad's ear, whispered seductively, "I'll do anything you want in return", to which Chad gladly obliged to her instructions.

Marley spun back around, her ponytail flicking in the air with the force, and a devilish smirk occupied the Head Cheerio's mouth once again. "Girls, it's go-time." she said to her sidekicks, as the Glee kids piled out of the choir room and flooded the hallway. The trio inspected their nails nonchalantly, then, in fake surprise, Marley began.

"Well, well, look what the pedophiliac, curly-haired Spanish teacher brought in. Hey everybody," Marley exclaimed as she turned to the Cheerios behind her, a fake enthusiastic expression across her face, "It's the Glee losers! They've come out to play after their long, tiresome practise of singing sappy love songs to one another, and crying in misery at every single person's individual sob story. What was it this week, huh? Did Tina Stomach-Turner aka Wade "Unique" Adams sing his/her rendition of 'If I Were a Boy' whilst frolicking about in his/her drag costume, disturbing everyone with the fact that Wade/Unique - spoiler alert - _IS_ a boy?" Marley's words stunned the Glee Clubbers, as they gave her looks cold as stone.

"Lay off, Marley Rose," Unique told the Cheerio Captain herself, sass laced in her voice as she came centimetres from the brunette girl's face. "Unique is a _proud_, black woman and she will not take _any _of your crap-"

"Oh, you're right! I'm sorry!" Marley spoke, the words rolling off her tongue in fake-innocence. "I should be nursing you all. Hitting that high note in the same, overplayed Whitney Houston mash-up I've heard you guys sing must be pretty hard..." Marley's eyes drifted to the back of the group, as she saw a tall boy of about her age with silky brown hair combed in an old Justin Bieber style. He wore glasses that were a little too big for his face, and his big brown eyes were gazing at the floor. _Perfect_.

"Hey- you! Bieber boy!" she called out, looking at the young man. He looked up to see her and his cheeks turned beetroot-red in a matter of seconds. Marley smirked. "Come up here!"

The boy did as he was told cautiously as the rest of the Glee Club winced at every step he took. Honestly, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had spent several months crushing on the girl from afar, but she was _talking _to him. _Directly_.

"What's your name, four-eyes?" Marley spoke as she looked up at the tall, chestnut-haired boy, straightening her immaculate Cheerios uniform and piercing her eyes into his brown-orbed gaze.

"R-Ryder. Ryder Lynn." he spoke, his voice so fragile it could have shattered right then.

"Ryder Lynn?" Bree spat the words out in disgust. "What, are your parents Woody and Jessie, The cowboys from Toy Story?"

"No, n-not really-" he stammered again, blushing at the fact that yet another hot girl was talking to him.

"Save it, Bree." Marley harshly muttered to Bree, who did as she was told. Then, batting her eyelashes, Marley turned back to Ryder. "So you're in Glee Club?"

"y-yes" was Ryder's reply. He had actually been in Glee Club since his sophomore year, but he was in the background a lot.

"Well, your vocal chords sure must be tired out, _Ryder_." She said as she walked slow circles around the boy, looking at his complexion. He wasn't like the other nerds, she thought. He was almost... attractive. But she snapped those thoughts out of her head as quickly as they came, though, and took her place in front of him again. "Do you want a drink?" she smirked. Ryder had never been targeted before- he didn't know what was coming. So he said yes, not noticing the Glee Club wince behind him, giving him signals from behind, which the Cheerios could obviously see. "Perfect." Marley replied innocently, trying not to get herself attached to his brown-eyed gaze. "So, do you like blue raspberry?"

"Huh?"

Before the tall boy knew it, Bree, Kitty and Marley turned around to Chad, who was concealing three bright blue slushies. The trio then whipped back and coated Ryder in icy, blue slush, his mouth opened wide in shock, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. Of course the girls didn't like him, they only liked teasing him. He wiped his face as the Glee Kids looked at him in shock. The blue stuff was stinging his eyes as he took off his now-coated glasses, then he looked back up at Marley, but whatever kind of apology he might've been expecting didn't come- the Cheerio simply bit her lip and smirked yet again. And when the boys from Glee told him to go to the bathroom and clear it up, as well as offering spare clothes, the now coated-in-blue Ryder kindly obliged. Then, in one swift motion, Marley, Bree and Kitty (as well as their army of Cheerios and Jocks) spun round and walked back down the hallway in the opposite direction as the bell rang. But whilst the other Cheerios were storming off, Marley looked at the pile of slushie that was now on the floor, the aftermath of her most recent victim. She knew he was different to the others somehow- there was something about him.

**Heyyy there, gleeks!**

**So, after my one-shot, 'Nightmare', you guys wanted more- So I came up with this whilst I was meant to be doing my algebra revision… oops.**

**I'll just clarify that Marley and Ryder are now in junior year, if you didn't get that. Also, this story is very AU, so expect the characters to be OOC.**

**Also, sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes, and sorry if the story's a little hard to understand or a bit confusing! I do try my best, but I was pretty nervous as I was writing this, since the idea of writing a big chaptered fanfiction would've stunned me to silence a couple of months ago :/ **

**So glad to be writing again, and it would mean the world if you reviewed, or even favourited/followed! Love you guys **

**-Beth xx**


	2. The Plan

**Hey, gleeks! Sorry for the late update. And happy Ryley week!**

Marley was tired out, to say the least. Who ever thought Cheerio practise before school would be a good idea? Coach Sue Sylvester, of course.

Marley, as per usual, executed the routine they had been preparing for Regionals effortlessly, as some of the younger cheerleaders failed to do a simple movement. And since Coach Sue assumed that this morning- particularly cold, slippery and dewy, and the time being around 7:30am – was a normal Cheerios practise, she simply yelled at everyone but Marley the entire time.

"Spin, hands, knees, twist!" Coach Sylvester echoed into her megaphone over the music for the umpteenth time. This appeared to be the hardest part of the routine, or at least, the hardest part to execute in the morning. "Oh, come on, you slackers! You can do 5 times better and you'd still suck! End of Cheerios practise. Marley, my office!" The brunette was confused to say the least that the Coach had called her up, but once she had skipped down the bleachers without slipping and had grabbed her bag, she returned inside to make her way to the entrance of Coach Sue's office.

But she was halfway through the back door when she saw him.

Ryder - that was his name. The jocks teased him and pinched his glasses, and he looked so hurt – he looked so shattered. He looked like he could stop living right there in that hallway, right there in that second. And in that last second Marley saw him, he looked into her eyes and gave her a look that cracked her icy heart in two. And then he was gone.

Marley, upon realising her expressing was a concerned and sad one, regained her composure with a jolt and straightened out her immaculate Cheerios uniform, abruptly walking to Coach Sylvester's office with an emotionless expression. She knocked on the door, finally regaining her infamous smirk, and upon Coach Sylvester opening it, walked in and sat down before the woman's mahogany desk and red chair, the one which the coach herself was sitting in. Her tracksuit was brown with orange stripes, and her look was menacing. Marley panicked.

"So, Marley, my Head Cheerio," Coach Sue began, looking up and down at the thin brunette before her. "You perform excellently in almost every task or routine I give you, and today I want to give you another task as a reward."

Marley groaned internally. She'd already done about a trillion tasks for her coach, but she decided to be optimistic, here on this cold October morning, and she forced her smirk to grow. "I'm listening."

"Well, it appears you and your posse are very good at slushieing the Glee Club, but I think it's time we should take a little detour and start some real, hard-core meddling." Coach Sue told the Cheerio captain with a smirk, her voice as soft as velvet, but as toxic as venom.

Marley was intrigued. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, I want you to get close to one of them in some way. Nothing to risk this huge reputation you've got, Blue-Eyes, but make one of them _trust _you." The words echoed around Marley's head as Coach Sylvester explained her mischievous plan, pressing her fingertips together like an evil villain in a movie. Marley instantly thought about a certain Bieber-haired Glee nerd, and smirked wider, knowing he'd be putty in her hands.

"Got it, Coach. Then what?"

"You tear Glee Club down from the inside." The words rolled off Sue's tongue effortlessly, speaking them rather evilly, "You find out all of their secrets, and spoil the embarrassing ones over the whole of McKinley. Mr Pedo and his army of Glee Club geeks won't know what hit them until it comes flying at their shiny, stupidly happy kitten faces like an asteroid. They'll be so broken they won't get a chance to even prepare for their precious Nationals competition. And that, Miss Rose, leaves us with a Nationals trophy, as well as infinite popularity and class. Do I make myself clear?"

Marley chuckled darkly before replying. "Crystal, Coach Sylvester."

"Excellent. Now get the hell out of my office." Coach Sylvester smirked, pointing to the door.

"Thank you, Coach. I won't let you down." Marley smirked once again, grabbing her bag and exiting the trophy-filled office.

As Marley swung her hips and walked, she noticed Ryder sitting on the floor, his back against the lockers, inspecting his glasses, the hallways completely deserted. He looked like he had just witnessed the death of a thousand kittens, and the nearby Cheerio smirked at her soon-to-be test subject. She forced a concerned expression on her face, and crouched down beside the Glee Clubber. As soon as he noticed her there, the brown-eyed boy winced slightly, but now seeing her expression and identifying it as a concerned one; he gazed into her big, blue eyes questioningly.

"What do you want, Marley? Cause I've already changed my clothes twice today already, thanks to your friends." He murmured tiredly, turning back to his glasses and inspecting a few scratches that the jocks had made. Marley, in a way, admired how he sort of stood up to her, but moved forward in her plan, convincing herself she could never respect _or _admire him.

"Oh, they're not my friends, don't worry." She sighed as she sat next to him, hitting her back against the metal lockers, purposely sounding exhausted. "You know, my life kind of sucks right now, Ryder." He blushed when she said his name – _perfect, _she thought. "I mean, I completely flunked out on my algebra test, and I don't know what to do now." She whined, hoping it would work, and boy, it did.

"I-I could tutor you, Marley," he stammered as he began, looking down as he realised it was such a long shot for a guy like him. "I mean, if you want…" he inspected his glasses again before securing them back on his face. He was surprised to say the least when her face lit up.

"O.M.G. Are you for real? I would love that!" she said with enthusiasm (it was all fake, though). She bent over and pulled him into a hug, and he hugged back, a little bewildered. Nonetheless, a Cheshire-cat-style grin spread across his face as he breathed in her sweet vanilla scent, and then she was thanking him as they got up. "Come to mine this Thursday, 6pm sharp! I'll Facebook message you the details, honey." Marley bit her lip and waved at him somewhat seductively, packing the final punch on her master plan, then spun around and walked, swinging her hips, a smirk painted back on her face.

**And there you have it – chapter 2, complete. Anyway, did any of you guys see A Katy Or A Gaga? There's hope, Ryley fans – I spot a Jarley break up on the horizon, and god, do I hope it's true. Us Ryley fans have taken a lot, if you look back on it! Phew. And ughhh, Jake is totally my least favourite. And everyone was being such a bitch to Marley! Anyway, see you (hopefully) soon. Keep reviewing – I love them! I'd post answers to your reviews but I'm pretty tired and had a pretty rough day, but hopefully I'll remember next time!**

**-Beth x**


	3. The Tutor

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything related to Glee, otherwise I would probably be working there and not writing fanfiction.**

Ryder got out of his old, rusty car sheepishly, carrying the algebra textbooks with one hand. He straightened out his back and rolled up his sleeves - it was really cold and looked as though rain would fall upon him if he was outside longer that 5 minutes, but he was so _damn _nervous he felt overheated on this dewy evening in Lima. The boy made his glasses more secure on his face and ran a hand through his Bieber-cut hair before advancing to the grand household before him – Marley Rose's house.

Words travelled through his brain at a thousand miles an hour, thoughts banging against the sides of his head in frustration. '_What if I mess this up or if I say something stupid? Why would she even choose _me _of all nerds?' _He mused, and soon he was ringing the silver-plated doorbell of the extravagant house and looking up at its beauty. '_Oh my god this is happening. This is actually, literally happening. I, Ryder Lynn, am at the house of Marley Rose, the girl I've been crushing on from the moment I-'_

"Hello?" a thin, beautiful woman who must have been in her late 40s answered the door, looking Ryder up and down questioningly. This must have been Marley's mother. "Who are you and why are you at my house?"

Ryder cleared his throat as he internally panicked, but managed to stammer words out of his mouth. "I-I'm Ryder – Ryder Lynn. I go to-to Marley's school? I'm here to tutor her, Ma'am." His palms were sweating – he was never really good at talking to people he didn't know who were of a higher class than him.

"Right… okay." The woman answered, her menacing eyes looking Ryder up and down again, before shouting up the huge, winding staircase standing proudly behind her, "Marley, some boy is here to tutor you!" then, turning back to the boy in front of her, she offered a welcoming smile. "Do come in, sweetheart."

As Ryder stepped in and fixed his glasses on his face once more, he stared around the elaborate house around him. He was standing on a cream and grey tile-stone floor, so shiny and polished he could see his reflection in it. To his left lay an entrance to a warm and welcoming room, looking to be made entirely from wood and leather, with an immaculate fireplace, a small fire blazing and crackling inside. If he turned his head in far enough, Ryder could see a large flat screen television in there, not a scratch or imperfection on it. To his right, an opening to a spectacular dining room, with a long glass table standing on polished wooden table legs, candles in the middle. Behind that table was an opening to a rather glossy kitchen, with a shiny granite countertop. _'They're so damn rich,' _Ryder thought.

"Coming, mom!" a voice shouted from upstairs, and soon enough Marley was cascading down the extravagant stairs with her hair pulled out of its signature ponytail, but her perfect Cheerios uniform still on and clinging to her thin curves. She offered Ryder a smile and a slight wink, and Ryder looked as if he couldn't quite believe it. "Hey, Ryder," She smiled at him, "you look like you've just walked into Narnia, honey." She thought out loud, which made Ryder blush slightly.

"I-ummm… I was just admiring your amazing house, that's all." He chuckled.

"Sweetie, why are you still in your Cheerios uniform?" Marley's mother asked, and Marley groaned before giving a reply.

"Ugh, I just couldn't be bothered to change." Then, turning to the boy in front of her, signalling to her cheerleading costume, she asked: "Do _you _mind about this?"

Ryder practically eyeballed her up and down before insisting he did not mind, having no control over his words as he trailed off. '_God, he's such a nerd,'_ the Cheerio mused. "Okay then. I'll show you up to my room, _Ryder._" The words rolled off her tongue as she grabbed his arm and showed him up the stairs and into her room. Ryder was lost for words at the very sight of it.

Marley's room was massive. Her mammoth bed, impressive with its dark and shiny wooden bed frame, was standing centrally at the back of the room by a large window, and had several brightly coloured cushions on it. To the left was a long makeup table, with several drawers and cosmetics spread across it neatly, a curling iron and a hair straightener also making an appearance on the table, not to mention a huge and impeccable mirror. As Ryder moved his head, he saw an open walk-in wardrobe, complete with all of Marley's cute tops, short skirts and skinny jeans, and occasionally the sight of a small or sexy dress or elaborate lingerie, which definitely raised a crimson colour to the boy's face. There was also a furry, pink rug on the glossy wooden floor, and the walls were painted a simple duck-egg blue, which surprised Ryder, but was also his favourite bit amongst the room before him – it showed that Marley had a soft side.

Marley smirked at his expression, and went to close the doors to the walk-in wardrobe, before she then sat on the pink and fluffy rug in the middle of the room, and patted the spot next to her with a smirk. Ryder quickly obliged, sitting next to Marley and opening the algebra books. He gazed into her piercing light cerulean eyes for a second, before clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses and moving on with the tutoring.

"Ugh, algebra sucks!" Marley exclaimed after half an hour of not getting any of what Ryder was assisting her on. "Like, when are you actually gonna use it in real life?"

Ryder chuckled slightly. "I don't know, Marley. But you have to learn these things if you don't want to flunk again."

Little did he know she knew everything he was teaching her. She was acing algebra in understanding, but she was flunking it on purpose so she wasn't being called out as a 'nerd' or an 'algebra dork'. You need a status and a reputation at McKinley, otherwise, how are you meant to survive?

Marley just sighed and nodded in reply to Ryder's statement. "Okay, I guess you're right. But can we at least take a break? All these values for 'x' are tiring me out."

"I don't see why not." Ryder smiled. Then, Marley rested her elbows on her knees and cupped her cheeks in her hands, looking at Ryder. "So, what's happening in Glee Club?" Ryder was taken aback about her question. "Since when do you care about what's happening in Glee Club?" He chuckled somewhat nervously.

"I don't know… sometimes it sounds… pretty fun." was her reply. "So, what's happening?"

"Ummm… we're preparing for Nationals, I might get a solo." Ryder looked down and grinned. "I really, really hope I do, though."

"You should, I bet you're super good at singing." She complemented him innocently with a smile.

"uhm, thanks, I guess." Ryder blushed and turned crimson again, then cleared his throat. "So, uh, what's happening in… the Cheerios?"

Marley groaned and lay back on the rug. "Coach Sue gave us this super hard cheer routine, and she's moved our rehearsals to, like, 7 in the morning and every day after school for _our _Nationals competition. It totally blows, Ryder. And when I come out of rehearsals, tired and all that crap, these floods of jocks just come up to me whilst I'm trying to get to my next class, just asking me if I'm okay and if I want to go out with them on some date to cheer me up. Ugh!" she groaned again.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised about all of these guys coming up to you – you are very pretty and popular." He confessed, and blushed again. '_Did I really just tell her that?'_

Marley smiled, really, and grabbed his knee reassuringly. "Thanks, I guess," she giggled, sitting back up and looking into Ryder's eyes for a second, getting lost in them with no control. Ryder looked into her eyes, and their eyes locked for a decimal of a second before Ryder cleared his throat again and looked down at the algebra textbook.

"We should… we should, uh... get back to studying." He concluded the conversation as he swallowed the lump in his throat – he wanted her so badly. Why did he have to want her? Why couldn't he just like someone who was actually in his league?

"Yeah," Marley giggled with her mouth closed, a smirk upholding her face. "I guess we should."

They studied for another hour and a half, Ryder going through everything with her, stuttering a little. Marley wasn't even listening – she was just arguing with herself. Why was she acting so weird around him? Why was she so shy now, when thousands of guys had been to her house before and she had been so confident? '_I better damn figure it out,' _she thought, _'It's getting in the way of my meddling.'_

"Any more questions?" Ryder asked, snapping her out of her thoughts and raking a hand through his hair, not noticing the thin girl in front of him bite her lip as he did so (and scolding herself afterwards for being just a little attracted to him).

"Uh, no. I think I have it now." She smiled, then, realising a way to catapult her plan in full swing, she smirked. "Actually, yes." Ryder looked up at her, concerned as to what she could be stuck on. "You know my friend Kitty?" Ryder nodded questioningly, "well, she's having this big Halloween party at her house next Friday. It's a costume party, and I'm allowed to bring a plus one… do you… want to come with me?" she bit her lip again, looking at him with her begging blue eyes.

"Are… a-are you serious?" she nodded in reply, still biting her glossed bottom lip. "Uhm, yeah, okay." He grinned, blushing again and adjusting his glasses once more.

Marley squealed in (fake) enthusiasm then pulled the Ryder into a tight hug. "Great! Party starts at 9pm. You better be there." She smirked, standing up and handing him his algebra books as he did the same.

"O-okay," he chuckled, "I will." He took his algebra books from the smaller girl.

"Good." She smirked, then leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, leaving a mark of her classic pinky red lipstick behind, before pulling away afterwards with a mischievous smirk. Ryder looked completely lost for words.

"See you, Marley," he blurted out, chuckling slightly in disbelief as he made his way down the stairs of the household. Turning to her mother, he exclaimed "Always a pleasure, Ms Rose," before grinning and leaving the house, not a chance in the world that the grin on his face would fade any time soon.

**And that's chapter 3 complete, my friends. I hope you enjoyed, and, as always, keep reviewing/following/favouriting! I am very pleased about the positive feedback coming, you guys are the best!**

**Oh, by the way, I changed Marley's mom because I thought it would fit in more with the story. I have nothing against Millie Rose though, she's a sweetheart!**

**Next chapter: Kitty's Halloween party :D (I understand the timings are pretty different to the present day, but that was simply due to poor planning- sorry guys :/ )**

**I hope to update soon! ;-)**


	4. The Party

**DISCLAIMER: obviously, none of these characters are mine (apart from Chad, Lacey and the girl dressed as Wonder Woman). All rights to the people of Glee, I guess.**

A nervous week of Ryder constantly panicking had gone by. He had actually been invited to a house party – and not only that, but he had been invited there by Marley Rose herself. There were times when he had pondered if it was all a joke, but the boy was too completely over-the-top in love with her to even care – even if it was a scam, he thought he'd be privileged to have his heart crushed, if the person who was crushing his heart was none other than Marley Rose.

He got out of his car sheepishly, much like how he had done when he went to tutor the brunette for the first time a week before, and brushed nearly-shaking hands down his costume before ringing the doorbell, hearing the loud bass-line thumps of a popular song even from outside. _This was going to be wild._

A very provocative Kitty Wilde opened the door, ironically _not _dressed as a cat. She was wearing a revealing nurse costume, with her hair cascading and framing her face (which Ryder thought was a bit overdone with makeup), holding a red plastic cup filled with a questionable liquid as she looked him up and down.

"Do I know you?" she asked him, twiddling her hair with a perfectly manicured finger.

"Uh-um… my name's Ryder. Ryder Lynn?" he tried to jog the small blonde girl's memory.

"Nope, still not ringing a bell… wait. Aren't you in Glee Club?" she asked, looking slightly disgusted that someone had invited such a loser to her party.

"Um, yeah. I usually wear glasses." Ryder replied, pointing to his eyes, which now had contacts in so he wouldn't come off as a _total _nerd.

"Huh…" Kitty smirked, "and who invited you?"

"Uh… Marley." Ryder hesitated, worrying that anything he said could sink him to the bottom of the polluted ocean that was McKinley High School. Kitty looked at him questioningly, but nonetheless, called Marley to the door over the large thumps of whatever monstrosity was playing on the stereo. When Marley came to the door after flirting aimlessly with a guy dressed as a fireman, she too did not recognise Ryder.

"Why can't I remember inviting you?" she pondered, Ryder's mouth still wide ajar from seeing _her _Halloween costume. She was dressed in a black bandeau bra with a black leather jacket, the sleeves rolled at scrunched up, accompanied by a short black skater skirt. She also wore black high heels so she was now the same height as the boy before her, only the black/gold eyeliner across her cheeks (masquerading as cat whiskers) and pink kitty ears peeking out from her glossy brown tresses giving any tell as to what she actually went as. Marley had pulled the 'sexy black cat' card this Halloween.

"Uhm… I um… it's Ryder. I'm wearing contacts- I usually wear glasses?" he tried to jog the provocative brunette's memory, and Marley looked him up and down before nodding and smirking in reply.

"Oh, yeah, I remember you now," she said, winking subtly in Kitty's direction as the blonde girl offered a smirk back. Then turning back to the boy before her, she thought out loud, "You should wear contacts more often, honey. You look H-O-T hot!" she exclaimed, looking him up and down before pointing at his costume, "What's with the grandpa clothes though?"

"Oh, um…" Ryder started, looking down at his brown buttoned shirt, a dark green vest covering it. "I'm Chandler Bing," he began, but gave more details when both girls before him looked confused. "The sarcastic and funny one from _Friends_?" the girls grinned and giggled before telling him they remembered now, and they welcomed him inside, Kitty going to talk to a half-black jock named Jake Puckerman.

Marley lead him in with her perfectly manicured hand and brought him to a table filled with red and blue solo cups and various vodkas, liquors and sodas. She spun around and looked at him through her very long eyelashes, telling him he looked like he's just seen an old lady get mowed down by a tractor, and he chuckled it off nervously, saying he had never been to a house party with so many popular people before.

"Hey, relax, honey. I'll pour you a drink." He seemed a little questionable about that, and then she asked, "what, have you never had alcohol before, Not-So-Four-Eyes?"

"Oh no, I-I have some on New Year's and at weddings and stuff…" he stuttered, causing Marley to raise her eyebrows.

"I'm pretty sure that's the exact line that Sandy said in _Grease _when the Pink Ladies asked her that. Come on, I'll start you off slow – vodka and Sprite, okay?" he nodded slowly in reply. She poured the boy the drink, tossing in a generous amount of booze, and gave it to him. "And, by the way, if anyone _ever _makes fun of you at this party, I'll make sure it won't be a problem, alright?" Ryder smiled softly at her and nodded again.

He sniffed the drink and crinkled his nose up, before taking a swig, and then another- maybe it was just the idea of living on the edge, but he could have downed the drink right then, it was so good. Marley smirked.

"Don't drink it too fast – we wouldn't want any accidents to happen now, would we?" she chuckled somewhat darkly and took a glug of her own drink before taking him around the house, the loud beat of the music and the flirtatious and hardly-meaningful conversations accompanying them.

Ryder felt like a lost lamb at this party – he felt like Bambi, surrounded by roaring creatures and gunmen. Everywhere he turned in this house, he saw people. Jocks, jocks, morons, sluts, drunkards, animals. He heard drunken slurs flirting with each other, fighting with each other over the thump of the music, people making out with others they had barely even met. He felt outnumbered; he didn't belong in this crowd. _'But hey, it could be worse'_, he thought, _'at least I'm not wearing my glasses'._

Marley stopped in her tracks and looked before her, noticing a small group of people sat in a circle, a beer bottle spinning and them cheering. Her eyes lit up as she let a look of mischief take over her features as she dragged Ryder into the circle. A jock, who he believed was called Chad, called out on him.

"Dude, who brought this nerd?" he giggled, "Go back to your own habitat, loser!" he aimed his insult at the geeky boy himself, taking a loud slurp of his drink. Seconds later, Marley was whispering something in his ear. Obviously now petrified, moments later Chad shook Ryder's hand, apologising. Ryder couldn't believe it. Firstly, a jock actually _apologised _to him, and, even better, he was about to play Spin the Bottle with a girl he had been hard-core crushing on for years.

A jock made the choice to be the first to spin the bottle, and everyone listened as he lay down the ground rules (guys couldn't kiss guys, but girls _could _kiss girls, and the kiss couldn't be longer that ten seconds- and if you're wanting more, just "Get a room"), when the bottle landed on a girl named Lacey. She was an attractive girl with red hair, but she wasn't Ryder's type. She and the jock leant in and kissed, and soon after everyone kept playing. As the game descended, Ryder had kissed a blonde girl, but she tasted of cheap liquor, so he didn't exactly enjoy it.

About halfway into the game, Marley finally spun the bottle and it landed on Chad. Chad quickly obliged and kissed the smaller brunette eagerly, proceeding to stick his tongue down the girl's throat, making Ryder and other witnesses uncomfortable in a matter of seconds. Marley broke the kiss and slapped Chad in the face, causing everyone in the circle to 'ooh' sassily, and Chad to exit the game in a drunken rage. Marley took a long swig of her drink before spinning the bottle again. It spun around slowly, and it landed on _him._

'_Ew, do I really have to kiss that dork? His lips probably taste of potato salad. Awh, he's turned bright red, that's cute. Better get this over-with before his mouth gets filled with saliva.'_

Marley leant in first awkwardly with slightly blurred vision due to her half-drunken state. Everyone in the group watched intently as Ryder looked at her – she was so beautiful. He leaned in quickly and closed his eyes, and she did the same, hesitantly. She held his chin with her soft hand and trimmed pink nails, and closed the space between their mouths quickly. Thoughts were swirling around both teenagers' minds at a heart-racing speed. Marley was surprised to find that his lips did _not _taste of potato salad, and they were actually quite soft. She was also surprised that someone so dorky and uncool could be such a great kisser – and the kiss was actually… nice. It was simple. It was sweet. It was considerate. And soon, she wanted another, when-

"Time's up!" a completely wasted guy in the circle called. Marley abruptly pulled away from the Bieber-haired boy before her, turning a bright shade of crimson, which she was glad to see that no-one saw. But Ryder did.

Ryder was over the moon, he didn't even care if it was a game or if people were watching or that it didn't happen how he had dreamed it would have so many times before – she _kissed _him. On the _mouth. _

Suddenly, he was interrupted of his thoughts when a girl dressed as Wonder Woman, her hair pigtails, dragged him up to the dance floor. Marley, as she witnessed this event, tried to read Ryder's expression. He looked shocked that a girl had whisked him off to dance, but he chuckled nonetheless and danced with her to the music. Marley was officially in a rage – she didn't know why, but she had never been so angry over a guy before. She stood up, downing the last of her drink, and slurred, "This game is boring. Later, losers."

She went over to the dance floor, and grabbed the hand of a random guy, who quickly proceeded in dancing with her amongst the camouflage of the dim, purple lights and the drunken slurs accompanying the thumps of the music. She kept looking over her shoulder, over at Ryder. He was having the time of his life dancing with the other girl. '_God, she's such a whore.'_

Then, the next time she looked around, the girl was taking both of Ryder's hands and was dragging him away, the boy before her eagerly following. Marley stopped dancing, her eyes glaring, her feet moving to their own accord. She swatted her way through the drunken guys hitting on her, and made her way through the crowd. She didn't even know what good it would be to her if she found him – what was she even planning to say or do when she saw him? She stumbled through the twists and turns of the house, turning circles and dead ends as if she was in a maze, when she turned a final corner and found them.

And they were kissing. And the girl looked as though she had her tongue in his mouth. And Ryder looked shocked yet intrigued and happy about it.

For some reason which she wasn't known to yet, Marley's utopian world, where everything was perfect, finally caved into what can only be described as a nightmare.

**Dun dun duuuun! Chapter 4 is complete :D so I would love it if you told me what you thought of this one – the costumes, the ending, the kiss, the girl, Chad… whatever you want. And, if you want, tell me what you think is going to happen! I want to see your guesses. Did you like what Ryder went as to Kitty's party as much as I did? I basically had to add in something to do with **_**Friends, **_**since it's my favourite programme, along with Glee! Plus, I'm not really familiar with geeky comic book superheroes, and I thought that a geeky obsession with **_**Friends **_**is something that hasn't been done before. Besides, **_**he's her lobster!**_

**Right, can we talk about Movin' Out?! Ryley went on a date! I was so freaking happy though. I understand that Marley needed a little bit of space and that the whole love-hearts-on-the-Instagram-photo thing was a little bit creepy, but awh, GET THEM TOGETHER ALREADY! An Innocent Man was amazing, and My Life was kind of insensitive… I kind of wanted Jake to backflip onto his face, hahahaa. But seriously, Marley, you can't resist Ryder for too long, right? He's loved you since he first set eyes on you and sure he jumped in a bit too soon but he's been waiting for you to come around for so long! Stop being a bitch, k? k. Anyway yeah, my Ryley heart kind of went into cardiac arrest. I need them together, nowwww!**

**But, for now, so long!**

**-Beth :P**


	5. The Mornings After

**Disclaimer: as per usual, I don't own Glee.**

The doorbell rang and she trudged down her immaculate stairs to greet him. For some reason, she had been reluctant to talk to anyone over the past two days – maybe she still had a hangover from the Halloween bash or maybe those Cheerio rehearsals in the early hours had finally caught up with her, but she just felt like she didn't want to do anything, to _be _anything. Her mini vintage-style dress highlighted her curves effortlessly, her signature red and white Cheerios cardigan covering her arms. Her hair was no longer in its signature ponytail, but instead in a simple side plait, some of the hair straying from its hair tie.

She answered the door with a fake smile again, but it looked more fake than ever now. She didn't want to see him, not since she'd had the unpleasant experience of seeing him and that girl at the party, but she had to see him so that the whole End-The-Glee-Club fantasy that Coach Sylvester had created would work.

He was wearing his glasses again, and she was glad – maybe he was so drunk that night that he had forgotten about her saying he looked better without them. She wished she had never said that to him – she had, in a weird way that she had yet to understand, began to really love those oversized glasses.

"Hey," she greeted him tiredly, her voice barely conceiving the sound. He looked at her clothing option first, in awe of her simplistic beauty, then looked at her with a more concerned and sincere expression.

"Hey… are you OK?"

"I'm just still tired from the party – still a little bit hung-over," she chuckled with far too much effort before sighing and looking at him with her deep blue eyes. "Do you have the algebra stuff?"

"Yep," he grinned, still looking her up and down, "and I'm still a little tired too – by the way, you look nice," a red tint rose to his cheeks as Marley's cheeks threatened to do the same; instead she gave an unperplexed, microscopic smile.

"Thanks."

An hour later, Ryder was explaining the different values of 'x' – once again, Marley pretended to act confused. "Wait, so 'x' is 7 now? But wasn't it just 5? Ugh, I don't get this!" she groaned, before burying her head in Ryder's shoulder and accidentally taking a small sniff of his cologne, getting immediately lost in the scent. Ryder hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, moving as if anything he did would blow him up sky-high.

"Hey, it's fine. We'll take a break and go back to it later, 'kay?"

"'Kay," she grinned into his shoulder, before realising it was wrong to do that - she forced a devilish smirk back on her face and pulled herself from Ryder's embrace to look at him.

"So, can I try on those glasses of yours?" she smirked at him as he chuckled and looked down.

"And why the _hell _do you want to wear my glasses?"

"I dunno, I thought it would be fun." She bit her lip, looking at him.

"Okay, okay," he chuckled once more and took his glasses off, unable to steer from caving any longer, before giving them to her. He couldn't see much without his glasses, but at least he could see her; that was all that mattered to him.

She put the glasses on, her eyes looking distorted and slightly bigger behind the frames. She giggled as she squinted through the glasses to see that Ryder was staring at her in astonishment. "What is it, Bieber?"

"You look even more attractive and gorgeous, Marley." He chuckled, sarcasm laced in his voice. However, after realising what he had said, he turned a bright shade of red. "S-sorry, words just kind of… come out of my mouth…" he looked down into his lap, squeezing his eyes shut as if to internally scold himself. '_Attractive and gorgeous? Really, Ryder?'_

"Hey, it's okay," she giggled, "and thanks, I guess." She smiled at his hands, now fiddling in his lap. She looked at his eyes, slowly opening and looking to her shyly, warming to her as he chuckled the whole awkward happening off. _Those eyes._

Those eyes that she longed to get lost in for some reason. Those eyes that were centimetres from her face not three days ago. That nose that had brushed against hers as their lips met. That kiss that had been abruptly interrupted at that stupid party – the one that had changed everything for her. '_No,' _she thought, _'I don't like him. I _can't _like him. What about being popular? That'll be history if someone finds out that I like him. I don't like him – I think he's a nerd and a Lima Loser and I am merely using him to get back at that Glee Club for Coach Sylvester. This whole crush thing is merely an illusion. Marley, he's looking at you as if you're insane – stop staring into space! For God's sakes, Marley Rose, stop looking into those eyes! His stupid glasses you are wearing must be some kind of an illusion to make him look cute-'_

"Marley?"

"Oh, right!" she exclaimed a bit too quickly, ripping the glasses off and giving them to him, squinting, "sorry, those things make my eyes go kind of funny. They're not at all like my glas-" she stopped herself. '_Crap.'_

"Wait, you have glasses?" Ryder asked, chuckling in disbelief.

"No… yes… maybe, I don't know." She scowled at herself before looking down into her lap and fiddling with her plaited hair. "I-I wear contacts, basically. I have glasses, but I wear contacts, because-"

"Because you don't want to look like a total nerd? I get it, Marley." Ryder chuckled as he looked at her. "And you don't want the nicknames, right? You want to save this whole 'Head Cheerio' reputation going on." He guessed, and she nodded.

"You took the words out of my mouth, Bieber." She smirked before offering a closed-mouth giggle. "How do you cope?"

"Huh?"

"How do you cope, with the teasing and the bullying and the slushies, and the whole Lima Loser thing?" she asked. "I mean, I bet you don't deserve it." She inched closer to him and rested her elbows on her knees, cupping her face and smiling at him, thinking to herself, '_back on the track of the mission, now for his reply…' _

"I… um… well, you see, I don't really know. Sometimes I wish I had a different life, but…" he looked at her and chuckled again, looking down, "but sometimes I don't."

She bit her lip and scolded herself for feeling sorry for him, staring into space for a few more seconds before watching him place the glasses back on his face.

He cleared his throat. "Okay, so let's go back to values of 'x' before I have to start heading back home."

**Woah, 2 updates in 1 day! I should really be doing my Religious Studies homework… oh, well. Awwhhh, did you like it? I understand that this chapter isn't really as long as the rest, and to be honest it's kind of a filler chapter, but here's a little fluff for you. Also, Marley has glasses?! Did you expect that? I surely didn't – it just kind of popped into my head whilst I was writing this, lol. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes! I'm kind of tired since the term is almost coming to a close.**

**As always, please review! I'd love to hear any criticism you have or any opinions, as well as what you think is going to happen next! I hope to update soon ;-)**

**-Beth :P**


	6. The Coping

Marley walked through the corridors of McKinley, death-gripping her books in one hand, walking with an emotionless expression to her Cheerio friends. She did not want the experience she had just had to repeat itself again – she had never wanted to be on the wrong side of Coach Sylvester.

"_Marley Blue-Eyes Rose! I have been purged of any new information on the Glee Club, and have not feasted on any new gossip in almost 2 weeks!" Coach Sue exclaimed, slamming her protein shake on her mahogany desk, forcing the trophies on the desk to shake in response. "Surely you have been doing what I have told you, Dog Name?"_

"_Y-Yes, Coach. I've been having 'study sessions' with this complete geek from Glee Club and he's dished nothing, probably too busy staring at my boobs and salivating to even notice what I'm saying. They're maybe thinking of pulling the Original Songs card again for Nationals this year, and that is all I know so far. I promise you, Coach Sylvester, I am trying my best-"_

"_Try harder, Miss Rose! Have those stupidly large eyes on that face of yours got you in a trance? I need 3 more stories by next Friday, understood?"_

"_Yes, Coach." was Marley's drained, monotone reply._

"_Good. Now get the hell out of my office."_

"Hey girls!" Marley tried to perk up, meeting her friends.

"Honey, you look like you just saw a bunch of puppies get thrown in the chipper, what happened?" Kitty thought out loud, stroking up and down the brunette's arm. The girl sighed and groaned slightly before replying.

"Can't get the dog off my back. And by dog, I mean Coach. Just 'cause I haven't found any new info on the Glee freaks she went all evil-villain on me." Marley pouted, pleased to see the group of girls comforting her after her statement.

"Hey… you know what would make you feel better?" Bree questioned with a smirk on her face; Marley smirked in reply before asking what she meant. "We could go and pull another cool prank on the Glee losers."

Marley chucked in a dark tone. "If by "cool" you mean "ice cold and blue raspberry flavoured", I'm in."

Kitty took her usual place behind the window of the choir room, examining the scene behind it subtly. "Ew, barf. The glee girls – plus Wade 'Unique' – are performing their rendition of 'Walking On Sunshine' by Katrina and The Waves." She pulled an expression to prove her disgust, and then a devilish smirk upheld her face. "And no sign of Pedo Will, girls." She pronounced the words mischievously, as Marley agreed to the plan and opened the door, waltzing into the choir room mid-performance with her posse following closely behind.

"'Walking On Sunshine'? O. M. G! I _love _that song! And you know what else I _love_? Walking into a Glee rehearsal and examining what monstrosity you've been working on and just how you're getting on with your sad, sad lives." The Glee Clubbers in the room (the girls of the club only) all gasped and began to object to Marley's harsh words, but Marley cut them off. "No, seriously, how do you pull it off? You know, sucking so much? I haven't seen such a bad show since Stoner Brett made a move on me in History class. But hey, you must be pretty tried, since if you _are _in fact 'walking on sunshine', your feet must be burnt off by the sound of it – also, that would probably explain your dance moves – which, by the way, make me feel physically uncomfortable, especially _you_, Wade 'Unique' Adams. Are your fat ankles weighing you down on this one? Your man breasts or your male reproductive parts, maybe? Well," her next words were a peculiar mix of innocence and hatred which only Marley Rose could pull off, "You'll be pleased to know we're here to help."

Before the Glee Clubbers could object, Marley (along with the other Cheerios) pulled slushies out of concealed paper bags before pelting each Glee Girl with a generous amount of sticky, sweet, ice cold blue and red gloop. Marley then giggled mischievously as she sprinkled a large sum of golden glitter on each Glee member, who was in fact stunned to silence by the cheerleaders. Marley and the girls began to strut out of the choir room, leaving their victims a cold, glittery mess. But not without the Head Cheerio herself spinning around and saying: "Oh, by the way girls, that golden glitter's gonna be a pain to get out of your wigs."

Marley and the girls burst into laughter, closing the choir room door behind them, each recalling their favourite bit of the fiasco. Then, through laughter, Bree noted, "Okay, we _have _to do that again sometime. Marley, wanna go and do the same to the Glee Boys in the auditorium? I bet Four-Eyes-Bieber-Hair will be there."

Marley turned red at the sound of his nickname, although you could hardly see it through her generously applied makeup. She had gone the whole day without thinking about him.

"Uh, no, I have to revise for this Home Economics test otherwise I'm sure my mom won't let me go out with you guys next Saturday. Later, guys!" she pouted then smiled and waved at them as they returned the action, before hurrying to the library as if she had something to do.

She didn't even have a Home Economics test. She didn't even take Home Economics.

**Another chapter complete :D this one's kind of a short filler for you guys, but I thought it would be necessary, since I can assure you that big things will be happening next chapter. Also, I'm British, so I don't really know how American high schools work. I remember in a show once that they do Home Economics as an optional course, so I don't know, it was kind of a stab in the dark :/ **

**I hope that you enjoyed it and like always please Favourite/Follow/Review! I would love it if I got some more feedback since I haven't had much since chapter 3, mainly because afterwards I posted 2 chapters on one night and I think that might have confused people. Anyways, please do tell me what you think and what you want to happen/think will happen/hope will happen in the story! Love you guys.**

**-Beth :P**


	7. The Break-Out

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Glee, sadly. **_**Trigger warning for this chapter**_**: **_**bulimia**_**.**

A couple of crazy weeks of Marley fighting with her head had gone by, making the month December, the days short and the hours cold. She had been to Coach Sue's office twice, the subject being her lack of information about the Glee Club. Her friends had slushied a few of the nerds a few more times; however the Cheerios were confused as to why Marley would steer clear of any opportunity to meddle with a certain Bieber-haired boy. They were also getting a bit lost as to why Marley had invited him to Kitty's Halloween bash nearly two months before, but they had no choice but to shrug it off – besides, there's no talking back to Head Cheerleader Marley Rose.

The Cheerios had a massive event coming up, prior to their Nationals competition. Marley, as her thoughts were elsewhere, was beginning to lose interest in the cheerleading routine, but kept at it as a way to channel her mind and anger through sport and passions. Coach Sue had also encouraged a diet, which Marley reluctantly followed; the girls on the squad were also purging themselves of eating luxuries and Marley had no choice but to follow them. Soon, things were out of hand, and she began to force herself to throw up every day after school. She refused to believe that this perfect life she had once created was crumbling down on her, and she was in denial of the whole affair: a possible interest to Ryder, the forced vomiting; the insomnia due to the existential crisis she would face every night.

She plunged her fingers down her throat, leaning a hand on her toilet seat (even the Roses' toilet seats were perfectly polished), fighting tears that were threatening to spill out of her perfect blue eyes. She never thought she would be forced to do this to herself – a couple of weeks ago she was fine, but now she was so self-conscious and was dropping weight so she would be skinnier so Coach Sylvester wouldn't cut her off form her Head Captain role. As these thoughts swirled around her head at one hundred miles per hour she dug her fingers into her throat once more, sobs racking and shaking her body now. Questions made her forehead sore in pain, she was about to throw up a third time-

"Marley?"

She sniffed sharply and whipped her head around to the direction of the call, her immaculate ponytail (now fraying after a long day) threatening to smack her in the face as she did so. She looked up to where the voice in the doorway was coming from and just stared; she didn't know what else to do in a situation like this._ Ryder._

"What the hell are you doing here, Bieber?" the venomous words rolling off her tongue in full force as she stood up and tossed a few mints into her mouth, crunching on them. "Why in God's name are you in my house?!" she yelled at the figure before her, who was looking slightly petrified.

"I was here for our tutoring session – y-your mom let me in, told me to g-go upstairs and toy were in the bathroom with the door o-open and… Marley, were you forcing yourself to-?"

"Would you _shut up _for a second, Four Eyes?" Marley yelled once again, walking past the boy and out of the bathroom to her mirror, looking at her reflection and her red, watery eyes. Then, realising her bad manners to such an innocent soul, she calmed herself down and looked at her bony fingers. "I forgot you were coming, sorry." She smiled sadly at the ground then turned around to meet Ryder, whose frightened expression had now much softened.

"It's okay, Marley. I'm sorry for intruding you. But, what were you doing in there? I heard gagging, Marley. That doesn't make me feel too good." His voice was protective; however this only made Marley's face burn up in rage once more.

"It doesn't make you feel too good, huh? Well, what a shame it would be for you not to feel too good. News flash: you're not my security guard, Ryder! You don't know _anything_, do you? You're good at algebra, you're good at school but you _suck _at knowing me, did you know that?

"But Marley-"

"I _have _to do this to myself in order to be at the top of McKinley. I have no _choice _but to go on all the diets, flirt with all of the guys, be a role model for every girl in that hell-hole because otherwise, you know what'll happen? I'll be a _freak_, a _loser_, a _nobody_; that crap was my entire middle school experience and I am not going to sit back and let myself be just another face in the crowd, you bitch!"

Ryder was silent now and he was just listening to her intently, looking slightly hurt, but more concerned. Marley didn't know she was crying until she felt her cheeks were wet - she swallowed down the lump in her throat and continued.

"I understand that you were trying to help, and thanks, you get to join along with all of the other douchebags in that school who are just 'trying to help', but no one – _no _one – will understand the immense pressure I get pushed into. And the minute, the _minute _I actually like a guy, I _can't_." she threw her hands up and sat on her bed in defeat. "I can't like him, unless he's a chiselled jock or a young teacher or a guy who has yet to be picked on in that school. And you know what? That _sucks, _Ryder. Especially when you just waltz into my life with your stupid massive glasses and your hair that makes you look like an idiot and your geeky obsession with '_Friends'_. And I just… _can't_! And, even if I wanted to, that girl who you made out with at Kitty's skanky little Halloween bash would probably rather have you first!" she exclaimed as she leaped up from the bed, holding her forehead as if to stop the throbbing pains there. She began pacing her room.

"You probably don't even remember that slut-bag in her superwoman costume and her hair done up in innocent ribbons, and how she begged you to dance and then you two made out and I was _there. _I was there. And for a long time I didn't know why I was so upset, but I do now. It's because I wanted to _be _her, Ryder. I wanted to be in her shoes and swap lives with her for just one tiny second so that I would just be another face at a party rather than _the _face at a party; so that I would have less pressure. So that I got to kiss you again." She shouted in frustration and, without giving it much thought, cut Ryder off his thought process of what she had just confessed by pressing a passionate kiss to his soft lips.

Ryder's brain caught up with him as he kissed back and held onto that precious kiss for the seconds that it lasted, before Marley finally realised what she was doing and abruptly broke away, just like that night a month or so ago. She looked at him with wide and panicked eyes as he was looking at her, catching his breath in shock of what had just occurred. She let out a shaky sighing sound of pure panic and looked down, ashamed of herself, feeling the tears well up in her eyes again: they were threatening now to splatter on her perfect cheerleading uniform.

"I'm so sorry, I played you. I like you, but I _c-can't."_

**Oooohhh so Marley admitted it! Is that what you thought would happen? Leave me a review to tell me what you think!**

**I honestly love the amount of favourites and follows I am getting from you guys, and the prompts you are giving me too (expect a scene of Ryder shirtless soon, Guest ;))**

**Anyway, I'll try to update soon – I'm going on a trip for a few days, but my school breaks up for the Christmas holidays on Friday, so expect some more chapters soon, hopefully. **

**Love you guys, hoped you loved this chapter and Marley's panicky outburst, haha!**

**-Beth :P**


	8. The Test and The Secret

**Disclaimer: I won't own Glee. Ever.**

The brunette girl walked into the classroom hesitantly. She had been dreading this – truly dreading it. Whenever she thought about it, tears threatened to spill out of her large, cerulean eyes - the time had come for her algebra test.

Since her mind had been elsewhere (to say the least), Marley's brain was now that of a riot. Thousands of voices and equations were shouting over each other, fighting for something to say, screaming and hissing like serpents in her ears. They would grip on the sides of her brain, making her head throb and the sounds around her fade out. All she could hear were the fast thumps of her heartbeat. She took her seat and rolled a pencil between her sweaty palms; she was never nervous for tests, why now? Her heart only pumped faster when the paper was set in front of her. It would be deciding hardly anything too academically serious, but for Marley Rose, it was like her answers depicted her fate. Once given a quick brief by her slightly paedophiliac teacher, she turned over the test to the questions and began.

"a _D_?" Marley exclaimed a week later as she looked up at her teacher, revolted by her score, the words stinging her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rose," the teacher began, looking not at her eyes but at a rather inappropriate area on her chest. "Your answers were muddled and your arithmetic was poor. My hands are tied." He said in faux sympathy, raising his hands in defence. Marley scowled before looking at her test score once again, clearly disappointed. Sure, she felt like her brain was telling her to write 'Ryder' for every answer, but she did the best she could. But apparently not good enough. She even got the whole affair on solving for 'x' wrong –it was Ryder's favourite part of the subject, as he had said so very enthusiastically as he was teaching her, and she had laughed and said that he was a "complete goof", and Ryder had said that he knew.

The bell rang through Marley's ears as she stuffed the paper in her bag before leaving the classroom abruptly. What was she going to do now? She hadn't spoken to her tutor since the kissing incident – she was just going to have to bite the bullet. She mused for a second before leaning against the lockers and pulling out her iPhone, quickly finding Ryder's name and sending him a text.

**Hey :)**

He replied moments later.

_Hi. How are things? Did you have the test?_

**Yup. D**

_Pardon?_

**I got a D.**

_Oh…_

**It's not your fault, Ry. I got stuck and confused with everything that was going on, if you know what I'm talking about…**

_I know what you're talking about. I'm still sorry._

**And you still don't need to be sorry. I need to be sorry for completely messing with your head and being the one to make you leave in the first place. Anyways, would it be ok if you came round and began tutoring me again? **

_Of course :) _

**Coolsome! You know the details. I can't wait ;)**

-She had gained a bit more of her composure back.

_Okay, Marls :)_

"Hey, Mar-Mar!" Bree called through the halls the day after as she began waving and greeting her friend, several other Cheerios accompanying her. "How are things?"

"Totes badass, Bree-Bree!" Marley smirked as she hugged her books to her chest, flicking her high ponytail over her shoulder, "Hey Kitty Kat!" she then waved to her approaching blonde and smaller friend.

"Hey," Kitty responded, dragging the 'y' in the word on for a long time. "Ready to go to lunch, hun?"

"Always," Marley smirked as they headed to the salad part of the lunch hall. Marley had given up on her brief eating disorder problem and decided she just needed to stay healthy, especially after Ryder had brought it up on their tutoring session last night and convinced her – she'd still need to stick to Coach Sylvester's diet plan, though.

Minutes later, Marley sat down with a small plate of chicken salad and a pot of low-fat vanilla yogurt, accompanied by water. Marley had just tuned in to Bree's story about yet another jock she had meddled with, when Kitty let out a loud gasp and ghosted her fingers over Marley's neck.

"Dude, what the hell?! I don't have a leech on me!" Marley exclaimed, fanning Kitty's hand away.

"Sooooorry if one of your besties just wants to know where you got that massive hickey on your neck," Kitty smirked, sipping her smoothie (made with God knows what). This caused Bree to slam down her drink forcefully and turn to the girls with wide eyes.

"Let me see!" she chanted as she gave Marley gestures, telling the head cheerleader to show her. The brunette gave a frustrated huff and turned her head to the side so Bree could see it; the girl before her smirked. "So, who did it?"

"You're not gonna believe this," Marley began, smirking once more. "But this guy I met at a wedding last week did it. He's a senior, but he doesn't go here." This caused the girls to look at Marley expectantly, and she continued. "He's Italian, and, well, he came over to mine with his family and we came up to my room whilst the parents were talking and…"

"You _didn't_." Kitty said as her jaw dropped. Marley offered a wink before stating that she "wasn't one to kiss and tell", before sighing.

"He's back in Italy now though. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. He was a little cheesy for my liking, to be honest."

"What was his name?" one of the Cheerios asked.

"Paulo. Paulo Roberci." Marley smirked, digging into her salad again. "Now can we stop talking about it? The whole thing is making me sad." Marley pouted, taking a sip of her water.

"Sure. No problem." Kitty said before tasting her smoothie once more. "What were you saying, Bree-Bree?"

Marley opened the door and smiled at the boy before her. "Hey, nerd," she twirled her immaculate ponytail around with her index finger.

"H-Hey, Marley," he replied, holding up the algebra books in one hand and adjusting his glasses before smiling. "Ready for another tutoring session?"

"You bet, Four Eyes." She smirked as she led him up the stairs and into her room.

They began studying and Marley took note of everything he was saying, feeling the jumbled equations in her head clearing and differentiating themselves. She was starting to understand again, finally. After a while, Ryder proposed to take a break, placing the pencil he was using on the rug and adjusting his crossed legs. Marley agreed.

"Okay, Bieber. We'll take a little break," she smirked. "But try not to make any marks this time. Those things are hard to cover up, and the Cheerios saw. And, unless you want to change your name to Paulo Roberci and move to Italy, we should keep this thing hush-hush for now, alright?"

"Alright," Ryder agreed, taking off his glasses steadily (his eyes were already covered by contacts). Presenting a small smirk of his own, he inched ever closer to the girl. "I'll try to control myself."

**Ooh, cliffhanger! So there you have it, guys. Your prayers have been well and truly answered ;)**

**I'll update as soon as I can. Please keep the reviews/follows/favourites coming. I'd love to hear your opinions and predictions!**

**-Beth :P**


	9. The Reality

**Hey, guys! Here's another chapter. Sorry for the long wait! This chapter is set around 2 weeks after Marley and Ryder have decided on a secret relationship, so the said relationship is now well underway! I'll assume that it's January in New Perspective World.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, ok?**

Marley smirked as she advanced to the boy's neck – a place she had much experience dealing with. She rested one hand on his thigh; his legs were crossed on the bed that they were both sitting on. Using the other hand, she cupped the back of his neck as she began whispering things against his neck. His stuttering words came as a surprise to her.

"What is this?"

"Huh?" she let out the baffled noise against his neck, moving her head slowly up to meet his face (but not before bestowing many kisses on his upper neck as she did so). As he began to find the right words to reply, she began kissing him on the lips again, breaking the actions slightly so he could attempt getting the words out of his mouth between kisses.

"Like…- what – is – this thing – we're – doing?" he managed to get out before each new kiss. It was these words that caused the girl before him to break away fully from his lips and look at him.

"I believe it's called kissing," she smirked in a sarcastic reply; she knew exactly where he was going and she wanted to delay the cringe-worthy conversation for as long as possible.

"You know what I mean, Mar. I know you do."

She unwrapped her legs from around his waist and slid off his lap before crossing her legs and sitting upright, looking into his eyes and offering a sigh before trying to release the words out of her throat herself.

"Okay, so… this is… two people… adding… certain benefits to their friendship."

"And not saying anything to each other in public?"

"And not saying anything to each other in public." She confirmed with a sad sigh, nibbling on her lip in frustration. "I'm sorry, this must be killing you. But… this reputation… it's a lot to live down, Ryder. I wish I could, but-"

"But you can't. I understand, Marley. I don't know if you know this, but I'm not exactly stupid." He smirked slightly and chuckled, and she began to reciprocate his actions.

"You're such a goofball," she thought out loud through giggles.

"I know, I know," he chuckled once more before his expression presented a look of concern. "So… how long are we gonna keep having to do this?"

"What, are you breaking up with me?" Marley raised her eyebrows and chuckled in disbelief.

"No, no… God, no. I mean… how long are we going to do this – whatever this is – before we either tell people," Marley winced, "or they find out?" Marley's wince grew. Ryder looked up to meet her eyes (now softening to his), enticing as they were. He was living a fantasy that he never wanted to lose.

Marley sighed. "I don't know – that school can chew people up. I mean, people find out we have a… thing… and my popularity is out of the window. I mean, you're…"

"A dork?" he finished her sentence.

"I wasn't going to put it _that _way, but if you say so, ok." She said as Ryder chuckled before making his emotion a serious one yet again. "If people find out that we're something, I could easily lose _everything. _And so could you."

"But the thing is… I don't have _anything_ in that school. Apart from you – and I don't even really have you. Not fully, anyway." Ryder pointed out. "I don't want you to lose everything you have – which is a lot – just because you like to spend time with, let alone _kiss, _that 'Glee Club algebra dork that has no life'." Ryder smoothed his fingers over hers as she looked her dead in the eye. "I don't wanna be that guy."

"You're not that guy. Not yet." Marley responded in a soft voice, barely audible when compared to her normal outgoing self. "I think all we can do for now is to keep this whole thing secret – when people find out, they'll find out. We'll deal with the consequences somehow… if we can." She fiddled with her perfectly manicured nails in her lap as she said the words before looking up at him and offering a sad smile; he returned this gesture.

"It's gonna be hard, you know." Ryder said as he caressed her cheek with his thumb – and Marley wished he'd stop doing that, because it was making her think that she enjoyed spending time with him other than when they were studying or making out; she denied any butterflies in her stomach – eventually, she nodded silently in agreement. Soon, she couldn't fight the urges her mind had generated and she inched closer to his lips, meeting them with her own in a soft, passionate kiss, which he returned slowly. When she eventually pulled away, he was looking dumbstruck at her.

"What is it, Bieber?" she giggled.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," he blushed. "Months ago I was just wishing that you would know I existed."

**That's it! Sorry that this chapter is definitely shorter than all the rest, but some of you wanted Ryley fluff, so here it is. I'll update as soon as I can, although I'm quite busy from now on in December. I'll try and write a Christmassy One-Shot, but who knows?**

**Also, if anyone knows how I can do scene breaks in a word document (if it's even possible) could you please PM me? It would be really appreciated and I'd totally give you a shoutout. Thanks to blahblahblah86 for showing me how to do it when copy and pasting, though! Sadly, my computer kept crashing when I tried it – I don't know why :/**

**Anyways, Merry Christmas to all you lovely readers/reviewers/favouriters/followers! x**

**-Beth :P**


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